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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Russian 100-rouble banknotes are placed on a cashier’s desk at a supermarket in the Siberian town of Tara in the Omsk region, Russia, December 14, 2021. Picture taken December 14, 2021. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko/File Photo (Reuters) – Russia’s weekly inflation rate eased further in early May, data from statistics service Rosstat showed on Wednesday, after spiking sharply soon after Russia began what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Inflation is slowing even after the central bank lowered its key interest rate to 14% from 17% in April and said it saw room for more cuts, as it tries to manage a shrinking economy and soaring inflation.

Inflation was 0.12% in the week to May 6, down from 0.21% a week earlier and well below the 2.22% hit in early March.

Prices on nearly everything, from vegetables and sugar to clothes and smartphones, have risen sharply in recent weeks as Russia encountered logistics disruptions and increased volatility in the rouble.

Year-to-date, consumer prices rose 11.78%, Rosstat said.

Annual inflation has accelerated to 17.73% as of late April, its highest since 2002. The central bank, which targets inflation at 4%, said the annual increase in consumer prices was on track to reach to 18-23% in the whole of 2022.